Wednesday, July 6, 2016

How To Apply for Taiwan Tourist Visa

Taiwan is an island country off the northern coast of the Philippines. It is only an hour and a half away by plane from Manila but unlike other Asian countries, Taiwan (Republic of China) requires Filipinos to have a valid visa before entering their territory.

Before anything else...

Filipinos who have valid USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and/or Schengen visas can bypass the visa application of Taiwan. Just head on to this website and fill out the application form, print out the certificate, and voila. The travel certificate will be valid for ninety (90) days (multiple entries), and you'll have thirty (30) days of stay which will start from the following day after your arrival in Taiwan.

But if you don't have any valid aforementioned visas (like me), follow these easy steps:

Have a valid Philippine passport with a remaining validity of at least 6 months.

A complete visa application form to be filled out online. After filling out the application form, I printed it for submission. Take note that after printing your application form, please submit it together with all other requirements within fifteen (15) days. Otherwise, you need to fill out the application form online and print it again.

Two (2) passport sized photos, white background and taken within the last three (3) months. Sign at the back of your photos.

Original NSO birth certificate issued within the year.

If married, an original NSO marriage certificate.

Here are the supporting documents for your visa application:

Recent bank certificate. I submitted one (BPI) but for some reasons, my travel agency asked for another bank certificate from a different bank. There's no minimum show money required in Taiwan but see to it that you have enough funds to cover your trip. If you're planning to stay for a week in Taiwan, expect to have higher savings in your bank. Same banana goes when applying for a Japan Visa.

Income Tax Return (ITR Form 2316). If you're on a job order status, Form 2307 will suffice.

Certificate of Employment, if you're employed.

Photocopy of company ID, if you're employed.

Certificate of Business, if self-employed.

In my case, after filling out the application form, I submitted all requirements to my travel agency here in Tacloban City. The processing fee costs Php 4400, shipping fee to and from Manila included. It took them three working days to process my application. Three days before my trip to Taiwan, I received my passport from ROC with an approved single entry visa valid for 14 days.

I also submitted the letter of leave approval from my chief supervisor, roundtrip tickets, hotel reservations, and other supporting travel documents. These are not required however, it doesn't hurt to include them just to prove that your trip to Taiwan is a legit one.

If you're in Manila, you can submit the requirements to Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in the Philippines.

41F, Tower 1, RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati

Tel: +632 887-6688

Website: taiwanembassy.org

Email: phl@mofa.gov.tw

Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8:45AM-4:45PM

Filing: Mon-Fri, 8:45AM-11:45PM

Releasing: Mon-Fri, 1:45PM-4:45PM

If you're going to Taiwan for education, business or long-term work, this post might not help you because I haven't had such experiences. I have to admit that the processing fee is a bit expensive compared to Japan and Korea, but I tell you... it's worth every penny! Taiwan is an underrated destination and Filipinos shouldn't get intimidated by the visa requirements.

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Hi! I would like to ask what details did you put in the 'Details of your contact in Taiwan?' for the visa application? also, Im just going for two days. Which city would you recommend for hotel bookings? Thank you very much!

Hello, i have the same question and will be going for 2 days as well. I asked my airbnb host but refuse to provide details which I understood. May i ask what u did on that portion of your visa application?

Hi I'm going to Taiwan in 3 days time. Already booked my ticket and I have a valid US visa and got the authorization letter from ROC already when I had a connecting flight from Houston to Taiwan before I reached Manila. I just want to know if I still need to have a show money or a bank account statement when I reach the immigration of taipei on the day of my flight going there? Thanks

Hello, can anyone tell me what to do on the feild where its asking for the details on my contact person in Taiwan. I booked airbnb and understood if they wish not to provide their details. It was asking for my hosts ID number which he refused.

Hi. We are planning to go to Taiwan by the month of August this year. You mentioned that if we are going to stay there for 1 week, we need to have a show money, at around how much of a show money do we need? And is e-visa really reliable and 100% working? Just afraid that it might be a scam. LOL. Thank you. Hoping to hear from you :)

Hi Carol! The e-visa is not a scam because it's posted on the embassy's official website. Some of my friends availed it (I didn't because I already have both Japan and Korea visas) and the website didn't require them to upload their bank account statements. Hope this helps.

Oh, great! But what if we personally apply for a Tourist Visa, is show money needed? Can we also apply for a group visa (2 adults and 1 3-year old child) so that we will only be needing 1 show money? If so, at what amount is needed for show money in going to Taiwan for a 1 week tour? Hehehe. I apologize for the dozens of questions I have. I hope you won't get tired of answering my questions. Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much! :) :)

Hi RM, I'll be going to Taiwan this end of month and planning to apply my visa through e-visa. Do they require other documents and if there a higher chance of visa approval? Hoping for your response. Thank you!

Hi Rm, good day! I'm going to taiwan this end of month and i'm planning to apply my visa thru e-visa, what are the documents that should be submitted and is there a higher chance of visa approval? Hoping for your feedback. Thank you! God Bless! 😊

hi , im working abroad, in KSA to be specific. Do i still need to present the income tax return? i think i dont have one. only COE?? travel date would be this coming january 2018, im still hoping for visa free for taiwan starting September this year:)